Google’s YouTube Blocks Film Behind Protests in Libya

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc.’s YouTube video-sharing
service is blocking access in Egypt and Libya to a film about
the Prophet Muhammad that is viewed as blasphemous by Muslims,
that sparked protests and an attack responsible for the deaths
of four Americans.

“This video -- which is widely available on the Web -- is
clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube,”
Mountain View, California-based Google said in an e-mailed
statement. “However, given the very difficult situation in
Libya and Egypt, we have temporarily restricted access in both
countries.”

A 14-minute clip of the disputed film, “The Innocence of
Islam,” aired on YouTube, shows a fictional attack by Muslims
on a Christian family followed by an account of the origins of
Islam depicting Muhammad as a womanizer. The video spurred an
attack that killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and
three other Americans.